When Eva Lee and her husband, Chiu Leong, decided to explore the possibility of growing tea, they felt a connection between their work in dance, ceramics, and photography and the cultivation of tea. “Our tea life evolved from past work within the arts, drawing upon our experiences and giving us a foundation, a belief in tea and all that it encourages,” explains Eva. Their tea, sold under the Tea Hawaii & Company [THC] label, grows on the slopes of the Kilauea volcano and undoubtedly responds to the pulsating energy hidden deep below.
The influence was clear last spring. Eva plucked buds of the new flush to make her beautiful white tea, just a few days after the volcano had given a little shudder. When she tasted the teas (usually reminiscent of summer roses), she noticed a distinct hint of ginger. Apparently, there was just enough volcanic activity for the roots of the young tea bushes to absorb the flavors of wild kahili ginger lying dormant in the rich earth that had been cleared of it 10 years before.
